mpbennett
Premium
join:2002-11-25
Stoneville, NC
| I need a decent, low cost provider with VM
I had P8 and recently got married. When I got married me and my wife got TWC Digital Phone. I kept the packet 8 number for a low volume business line. I have a small business where I wholesale computers to small computer shops in the county. Most business is done through meetings and email. But I need a local number with maybe 100 minutes a month and voicemail. I want to stay sub $10 a month and not pay a huge start up fee. I really dont care if its a number that goes directly to voicemail either. Most customers leave a message and I get back to them cuz I work during the day.
I had packet8 for over 2 years, wanted to bail several times but didnt want to pay another setup fee somewhere else. So when I got married I knocked the Freedom unlimited plan to the freedom 3, which is perfect for my needs. Well I called and asked to be dropped down to the freedom 3 and the woman said ok i can do that, your bill will be $9.48 a month plus 3.9 cents per minute for incoming and outgoing calls. I said thats fine. I looked on my account management page online and in deed the plan was dropped down. I thought all was well. This morning I get the daily account activity email from my bank and seen P8 charged me $23.48. So I promptly called and asked what the problem was, the woman on the phone kindly advised me. "I'm sorry sir, it takes a month for the billing to catch up, and you should have been told that when you called to be switched." I said I wasnt told anything other than what my new rates would be. I said well I am already on the freedom 3 but being billed for the freedom unlimited, she said yes sir. I said I dont think that is right to charge me $24 for a $10 phone bill. Once again she appologized. I said what if i use 2000 minutes this month what will my bill be she said $9.48 plus 2000 x 3.9 cents per minute. I said so Im still paying for an unlimited plan and you are only giving me a per minute plan, I said I do believe that is illegal. She said is there anything else I can help you with, trying to rush me off now. I said yeah give me a refund for my whole month. She said I am sorry sir I cant do that. I said fine cancel my service and refund me for this month, she once again appologized and said I cant do that since the month has already started. I said I have used 0 minutes this month so I havent used the phone. She said since the month ahs been started I cant refund you, I told her to just cancel my account and I would go elsewhere.
Moral of the story... Packet8's sales, service and billing all suck...Buyer beware. I stayed with them for so long because they were cheap and i never used the phone much. but i moved from home and needed the long distance to keep in touch with family. |
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christcorp
Premium
join:2001-05-21
Cheyenne, WY
 ·Bresnan Online
 ·VOIPo
| Well, I'm not going to debate P8 with you, because a lot of people have had very good experiences with them. But, to answer your question, you can try Zingotel.com. They have a 100 minute outbound and unlimited inbound for $5.95 a month. They also have a 400 minute outbound and unlimited inbound for $9.95 a month. Finally, an unlimited plan both directions for $14.95 a month. They include a FREE Sipura SPA1001 adapter, which is free until you cancel service, then you have to return it or pay $39.99 to keep it.
Zingotel has no contracts, no early penalties for leaving, free first moneht, total setup charge is $19.99. That sounds like the perfect company for your needs. Of course, there are no perfect providers. What works great for you may suck for someone else and the other way around. Anyway, there's a suggestion. $5.95 Later... Mike... |
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NoVaVoiper
join:2003-10-21
Arlington, VA | reply to mpbennett
take a look at RingCentral.com -- 9.99 with local or toll free number
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Poster formerly known at The Voiper |
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harry12345
join:2004-08-11
Westport, MA
| reply to mpbennett
Look at GalaxyVoice. They have a "free" plan with unlimited incoming and 60 minutes outgoing however it is not actually free. It costs an initial $25 setup fee and then it is actually around $2.50 a month in fees. After the 60 minutes it costs 2.3 cents a minute. They also have a 250 minute plan for $4.95 plus fees as well as other plans. You can also set up voice mail to go to your email account. |
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RockyBB
Premium
join:2005-01-31
Longmont, CO
| reply to mpbennett
Many companies that sell service on a monthly basis have the same policies: that billing plan changes are effective at the beginning of the next cycle (from personal experience I know that Sprint PCS does this), and that months are full months and not prorated -- even if you didn't make any calls you were still provided the service meaning that you could make calls and you could receive them if your number was dialed -- so you are not due for a refund once a billing period starts. Methinks that these policies are spelled out in the TOS ... which won't make you feel any better ... but one of the values of this forum is to learn from others, so everyone else reading this thread should be aware of their carrier's policies relative to plan changes and pro-ration. Sucks for you, but others will avoid those problems because you called attention to it... |
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steveymacjr
join:2001-01-25
Matthews, NC
1 edit | reply to mpbennett
does Zingotel use level3?
...if you've read my LEVEL3 thread, you'll know why i'm asking.. |
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mpbennett
Premium
join:2002-11-25
Stoneville, NC
| reply to mpbennett
The worst part is i called on the 1st if it wasnt for that i wouldnt care. I mean i called the month the month before and got rid of my virtual number and i was never cahrged for it. So if they can make changes that quick I dunno what the problem is. I have unlimited everything thru TWC. So I just need a number for people to call.
And it really doesnt matter if it is VOIP or not. I wont really be making any outgoing calls on it. |
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cdru
Go Colts
Premium,MVM
join:2003-05-14
Fort Wayne, IN | reply to mpbennett
If you don't mind paying 2 years in advanced, ViaTalk is a full featured provider and the 500 minute plan for 2 years is just under $10/month. They also use Level3.
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Quis custodiet custodes ipsos? |
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rizzo2dial
Premium
join:2004-08-05
| reply to mpbennett
You can do this absolutely FREE if you don't need to place outgoing calls on your "business" line.
Stanaphone offers FREE INCOMING numbers in certain NY area codes. They also provide free Voicemail as well as free incoming faxes. Both voicemails and faxes get sent to e-mail as file attachments.
Should you want/need to make outgoing calls from your Stanaphone account, they charge 1.6¢/min, although you'll probably need to pre-populate your account w/ $5 or $10 worth of calling credit.
Rizzo |
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RockyBB
Premium
join:2005-01-31
Longmont, CO
| free is nice. nothing cheaper than free. but should one trust a revenue making enterprise on a free carrier? a free carrier has no obligation to do anything, no obligation to maintain service levels, maintain phone numbers, no nothing. if a free carrier decides to close, how do you retain your phone number? what about lost business if the free carrier does not perform? how could one litigate against a free carrier ... with no payment there is no possible restitution... do free carriers have phone support? if customers need help, or have questions, or something is not working right ... will free carriers bust their butts to satisfy their unpaying customer? seems to me that any business relying on a free carrier is like a house of cards in the wind...it might be standing now, but with certainty it won't be soon. |
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